Claire's Literature Corner

  Dante Alighieri’s poem The Divine Comedy  , since its appearance between 1304 and 1321, has been an enormous success.This happened both in Italy, where it contributed to establish the Tuscan dialect, in which it is written, as the standard Italian language, and abroad, where it influenced the works of famous poets and artists, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton and William Blake. In England, the work knew a great success in the years immediately following its publication, but proper and complete translations of the poem did not appear until the 18 th  century. Many writers, though, inserted quotations of Dante’s poem into their own poetic production, as well as in essays, as an example of high poetry. In doing so, they often provided translations of the passages they needed: as a result, earliest attempts of translation of the Divine Comedy  are in the form of small fragments. What follows is a brief history of the most famous and important authors who, in a way...

  Released in 2014, “ The Satanist ” is the title song of Polish band Behemoth’s tenth studio album. The theme of the album is, as its name suggests, the opposition between God and Satan, with the triumph of the latter. The intention is pretty straightforward, Behemoth openly criticize the Catholic religion, advocating for the liberation of mankind from its yoke. This liberation is, of course, embodied by Satan, in a metaphor which echoes the tragic, passionate and majestic hero of Milton’s poem “ Paradise Lost ”. All lyrics in the album are, as it is usual with Behemoth, very poetic and at times cryptic. They contain many reference both to the Bible and to the esoteric tradition, like for example the use of the so-called “ Bornless Ritual ”, written by Aleister Crowley, in the masterpiece “ O Father, O Satan, O Sun! ”. Listening to this album without taking the time to savour its lyrics would be unforgivable, since they possess more literary quality than many contemporary poems. I...